Letter: Big Brother meets Swansea

Tuesday

Aug 26, 2014 at 5:15 PM

The Swansea selectmen are reportedly moving their sessions to the police station, perhaps as soon as next week. Do they have live broadcast capability at this location? Previously, the live feed from Comcast extended by cable from Brockton to Main Street in Swansea, feeding the administration building, town hall and high school.

The Swansea selectmen are reportedly moving their sessions to the police station, perhaps as soon as next week. Do they have live broadcast capability at this location? Previously, the live feed from Comcast extended by cable from Brockton to Main Street in Swansea, feeding the administration building, town hall and high school.

To extend it further to Central Fire Station No. 2 would have cost in excess of $200,000 and the project was abandoned. That was circa 2000. If they will have live meeings at the police station, someone discovered a new technology.

In times past, newly constructed police stations in Providence and Woonsocket, R.I., had public areas and interrogation rooms in the buildings pre-wired for audio surveillance.

The Swansea Police Department has a sign in the lobby advising visitors that audio surveillance equipment is present. That may cover the law. Does this include the public meeting room? Executive sessions won’t be executive if Big Brother is listening.